325 questions

[gomango]

Hi,Newbie saying hello,Just obtained a 1990 325 SE 4 Door,known theCar for 14 years only rust thats on it is a 2p size on N/S/Rear door,no dents anywhere,I want to lower it so could someone please advise the best height to bring it down to? i.e 60/40mm or 40mm all round.It has Cloth seats which are unmarked,has a noise coming from the rear wheel when going round a roundabout and is screaming out for a long run,the car has done 176000 and I got it for £350 .

[capri_rob]

Welcome to the zone.

£350 for a running rust-free 325i is pretty good going.

Rear wheel noice could be a number of things - most likely wheel bearing or diff problems but as you paid peanuts for the car that shouldn't matter too much.

Post some pics up !

[BMracing]

Hello and welcome!
That's the exact amount i paid for our 4 door 325i!

The amount you lower the car is personal preference. Personally i think 30-40mm is plenty for road use. 60/40 is a good look though, may have to be careful with the clearance. Plenty of quailty springs and shocks available, eibach, h&r, apex, bilstein, koni. Or you could go for a nice subtle genuine m tech setup, which will drop it around 25mm.

[gomango]

Thanks for replys,I forgot to mention thet the Car is running on the original 14 wheels,the last owner had just put on new Yokos so dont really want to upgrade to 15 wheels,would this make it a problem to fill the arches so to speak or does it mean 1 just goes lower i.e 60mm drop to make up the shortfall in the wheel/Tyre combo that I have,The Car is not in everyday use more of a back up,I feel it has good potential to be made to look really good without spending to much money,and as The wife keeps telling me I have spent to much on other projects so got to keep this one pretty cheap!!!.

[Brianmoooore]

The 14" wheels (should) use a tyre with a higher sidewall than the 15" wheels, so the overall diameter will be very little different.
60mm drops introduce far too much negative camber on the rear wheels, ruining both the handling and the inside edge of your tyres.

[gomango]

Thanks for reply,Next question would be ....What would you suggest?.I want the Car to be subtle but usable,not interested in going fast(got a Fireblade for that ) but would like it to handle nicer than it does,Plans include Strut brace,sus kit,Momo wheel,some Black 46 stickers a good polish with a mop,some new Bushes and thats about it.

[Morat]

My personal choice was eibach 35mm drop all round with the bilstein shocks and eibach rollbars. Transformed the handling and the ride is still useable on the nasty country roads nearby. I put new tyres on at the same time and so far (5k miles) they seem to be wearing evenly as far as I can tell.

It all new suspension, so it handles like a new car - just stiffer and RWD